The Reason
by TheGirlThatChasedTheRabbit
Summary: AU. Matthew and Alfred meet as roommates in college. They become good friends, but then it becomes a bit more... Alfred's father comes in and dangerous situations arise. Not a good summary, I know, but hey. There are a few other pairings Spamano, GerIta, PruHun. Main focus is AmeCan. Rated M for language and situations later.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi guys! And so begins my debut into the Canada x America shipping fandom. I have to admit, at first I thought it was weird since I was a hardcore UsUk shipper. Then, I was sent a link to a story on here that changed my mind completely. I still love UsUk, but AmeCan is just...wow. So, here is my story~!**

**One**

I stood outside of the dorm room door, holding the first cardboard box of my things. I was nervous. I hadn't met my roommate yet. What if we didn't get along? That would suck. I'd hate to share a dorm with someone who I didn't like or who didn't like me.

I took a deep breath. _You're the hero! _I told myself as I balanced the box on my right hand and turned the door knob with my left. I opened to door. I saw no one at first, just a few suitcases in the middle of the room. Then, I saw the guy. He was tall, but small framed, still only coming to about my ears. His skin was pale from what I could see of his revealed arms. His hair was a light honey gold, waving to barely brush his shoulders. He was looking out the window above a nightstand in between the two regular sized beds.

I cleared my throat to make myself known, not wanting to scare the poor fellow. It seemed my efforts were futile when he jumped, turning to face me.

"Um, hello! I-I didn't hear you come in. You must be my roommate. I'm Matthew Williams," he said, blushing and extending a hand to me.

"Didn't mean to startle you, Matthew. I'm Alfred. Alfred F. Jones. It's nice to meet you! I was thinkin' I'd end up with some psycho-serial killer type, but it's a relief to see that I have you instead!" I laughed, shaking his hand.

"It's, uh, nice to meet you, too, Alfred. Not saying that I am a, what was it? A psycho serial killer? But, how exactly did you deduce that I was 'normal'?" he questioned me, a curious look in his violet eyes framed by glasses.

"Ah, well, I am a hero, so of course I can tell the bad guys from the good guys!" I blurted, becoming distracted by the rare color of his eyes. _What the hell am I doing_? I thought, mentally shaking my head.

"Oh, well, alright, then," he said, giving me a smile.

"Yeah," I replied, not knowing what else to say. "So, did you choose which side of the room you wanted? You got here first."

"No, I was waiting for you. I don't really mind either side. And you?" he said, turning the question to me.

"I'll take this side," I said, jerking my free left hand towards the left side of the room.

"Cool. So, where are you from?" Matthew asked me, unpacking his things and sliding them into the dresser on his side of the room.

"I'm from Texas. You?"

"Ontario," he replied, pausing briefly in his work to look over at me.

"Whoa, Canadian, eh?" I smiled, mimicking a Canadian tick.

"Born and raised, yes," he smiled. "What brings a country boy to Kansas?"

"Football and a fresh start. What brings a Canadian down here to the States?" I retorted, ignoring his pretty smile. _Pretty? This guy just looks a bit girly. That's it. _I told myself, trying to figure out why he was so distracting. That had to be it.

"You're a football player? Nice. I'm more into hockey myself. Well, I don't play, not anymore, but I love a good hockey game," he said. "I came here for a fresh start myself. Plus, who would turn down a chance to go to another country for school?"

"Ah, that's true. So, what are you studying?" I asked, putting away my own things.

"Technology. I've always been pretty good with computers, so why not learn how to build them for a living? What about you, football star?"

"I'm studying to be a chemist. More specifically, I intend to work with medicine," I replied, watching the hock dance across his face.

"Medicinal chemistry? Not bad. You don't see a lot of people studying to work with and develop medicines," he commented.

"Yeah, I guess so," I laughed. "So, Matty, you don't mind if I call you that, right? How do you like the States so far?"

"Um, sure, go ahead," he blushed again. "Well, I've only been here a few hours, but I like it so far."

"You just got here today? Oh man, you _have_ to let me take you out for some drinks to celebrate our new friendship!" I said, getting excited.

"Um, Alfred, do you even know where any bars are here? Didn't you just get here, too?"

"Nah, bro. I've been to Kansas before. Back in high school, we used to play these Kansas boys all the time. I know a few good bars around here." He gave me a questioning look. "Of course, back then I had a fake I.D. to get in to the bars, Matty."

He shook his head and gave a quick snort, "Well, well Alfred, I didn't take you for the type to be a law breaker."

"What can I say? I like to have fun," I winked at him.

"Oh, I am sure you do!" he laughed. "So what time did you want to go out? It's six now."

"Oh hell, it's six already? Well, let's get dressed and then we'll walk over to this really chill bar a few blocks from here," I replied, going through my drawers to find an acceptable shirt and pants to wear.

"Okay," he replied, doing the same.

We left at about six thirty, arriving at the bar not too long after that. Matty had chosen to wear a hoodie with the Canadian flag on it and jeans. I chose to go with a black t-shirt and jeans, completed with my bomber jacket I got from my grandpa a few years before.

We entered the bar, heading towards the bar tender and counter to sit. The bar was a bit busy, but not overly so. There were quite a few cute girls around, but I found my attention being pulled to the Canadian to my right as the bar tender came to ask us for our orders.

"It's on me, so get whatever you like," I told him as the man approached.

"Alright. I'll have…a Molson," he said, his eyes lighting up at the name of the beer.

"Coke and rum for me," I said as the bar tender looked in my direction. He nodded and set about getting our drinks.

"Molson? That's a beer, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's pretty popular in Canada. I didn't think they'd have it here."

"Well, it's a good thing we came here, then," I said as the bar tender handed us our drinks. I took a sip of mine at the same time Matty took a swig of his beer.

Things were going good. We got along really well. Matty even laughed at my stupid jokes. We were both buzzed about two hours in when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey there, pretty lady," a slurred male voice said, eyeing Matty. I was about to say something when the drunken man spoke again. "This fella botherin' you? Why don'tcha come on over and sit with my friends and me over there?"

"Hey man, I don't know where you get off callin' my bro here a chick, but ya need to back off, got it?" I said, moving his hand off of me.

"Your bro?" he questioned, not understanding in his drunken stupor. "Why don't you go on somewhere with whomever the hell you're talkin' about and let me talk to this lady here?"

I stood up, getting pissed. "Why don't you," I pushed him slightly, "take your drunken ass somewhere? This is a dude. Get it? A guy! So, unless you go for the guys, I'd suggest you move along, pal."

"Alright, alright! Don't hit me, man!" the guy said, backing up and then going away. I sighed and sat back down.

"Thanks, Alfred. You didn't have to do that, you know. I was going to ignore him. That wasn't exactly the first time I have been mistaken for a girl nor do I doubt it will be the last," Matty said, blushing once again.

"What? You mean this happens often? Bro, listen, if you ever need help with stuff like that, just call me. I'll come bail ya out," I told him.

"Oh, um, thanks, but I don't have your number, remember?" he said.

"Right. Let me see your phone for a sec," I replied, extending my hand.

"My phone? Okay, here," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. He ran his thumb across the screen to unlock it with the correct pattern and handed it to me. I put in my number, texted myself his name and handed it back to him.

"Now you do," I said, taking a drink of my drink.

I felt another hand on my shoulder and was ready to punch someone. I turned around, glaring over my own glasses at whoever was unlucky enough to feel my wrath. _That drunken asshole better have not come back or so help me God! _I thought to myself. My eyes widened as I saw the person.

**A/N: So? Whatcha think?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Chapter two is here! Ta-da! **

**Two**

To my surprise I came face-to-face with familiar red eyes and silver hair.

"Gilbert? What the hell are you doing here, man?" I got up, hugging the familiar male.

"I thought it was you, Alfie! Ludwig and I bought out this place about a year ago, man. What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in three years!" he laughed, hugging back and smiling when we pulled apart.

"I'm going to that college a few blocks down. Man, I can't believe you came all the way out here to open up a bar!" I said, taking another swig of my drink.

"Well, you, me and Ludwig always had a blast out here, especially at this particular place," he grinned, "so when the place was going out of business, we bought it. Plus, that little Italian Ludwig moons over opened up an Italian restaurant and he just couldn't stay away from little Feliciano long. So, we all moved out here! Coincidence, huh?"

"Yeah man, it is. Oh, bro, this is Matty," I said, remembering he was there. Guilt ate at me for forgetting the quiet man so quickly. "Matty, this is Gilbert Beilschmidt. I played football with him and his brother in high school."

"Is this your girl, Alfie? Like he said, I'm Gilbert. If you ever wanna get with an _awesome _guy, you know where to find me," Gilbert said, winking. Matty blushed and opened his mouth to speak, but I stopped him.

"Gil, Matty is a dude. Not my girl. Geez," I said, shaking my head.

"Oh? My bad, Matty. You just have a very soft face, so I assumed…," Gilbert's eyes widened. "Wait, is this your guy, Alfie?"

"What? No, man, it's not like that. Matty and I are buds, plus we just met today. He's my roommate," I told him, blushing a bit.

"Oh, well, you never know. Don't let that man around Francis or God help him," Gilbert shook his head.

"What? Francis is here, too? Did the whole football team move here?" I asked, confused.

"Seems like it, doesn't it? Yeah, he's here. I guess all of us felt drawn here after graduation. Maybe it is fate," he said.

"It is certainly weird. I will definitely be on the lookout for Frenchie, then."

"So, did you tell Matty what a nerd you were back in the day?" Gilbert asked, smirking.

"Nerd? I was not! Don't listen to this idiot, Matty!" I yelled.

"Oh yes he was. This man here was the top of our class. He graduated valedictorian and took all AP classes the last two years," Gilbert laughed.

I sent him a glare. Did he have to try and make me look bad? I look around the bar, watching drunk people try and dance. It was quite comical seeing them stumble to the beat of some pop song. I didn't understand it. After all, rock was a better genre, in my opinion.

"Hello? Earth to Alfred! It's no fun to rag on you if you're going to space out, bro."

"Excuse me for ignoring your stupidity," I said, rolling my eyes.

"So, you were valedictorian? I was also the top of my class, though no one bothered to remember that," Matty smiled.

"Yeah, surprising, right? When most people meet Alfred they assume he is an airheaded idiot. But, let me tell you, that mind of his is a dark place, full of scary knowledge. I would never truly get on his bad side. I'd hate to be the one he used his resources against," Gilbert added before I could reply.

"Oh whatever, Gilbert. You make it sound like I am plotting world domination or something," I said, shaking my head.

"I wonder….,"Gilbert said, shaking his head.

"So, Gil, whatever happened to that Elizabeta girl?" I asked.

"Oh, she, um, married some jerk of a composer."

"Really? I actually saw her at the airport today. She was just flying in to go to a cuisine college. She is single as a dollar, man. Looks like they split up," I told him.

"What? You serious?" he asked.

"Yeah man. She even said for me to give you her number. I didn't get it at first; I thought maybe you guys lost touch or something. You might have a shot at your first love after all," I said, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Don't hate because you never had a girlfriend in your entire life."

"S-shut up! I have, too!"

"No you haven't, Alfred the Innocent."

I took to glaring at the self-proclaimed Prussian rather than actually responding. Matty was watching us with amusement, drinking his third beer with a small smile. I felt my face heat up. _Stupid wannabe Prussian. Jerk! _I thought as I glared. Gilbert just kept smiling like an idiot.

I took the next few moments to glance over at Matty. He had been pretty quiet. I hoped I hadn't excluded him and hurt his feelings. I continued to look at him and his eyes met mine. He gave a bigger smile and I felt relieved. He didn't seem to be upset.

"You never had a girlfriend?" Matty asked, amusement coloring his voice.

"Um, never had the time for one. Plus, I guess I _was_ a nerd. Chicks don't really dig nerds, ya know?" I said, shrugging.

"Even a football playing nerd?" he asked.

"Especially a football playing nerd," I confirmed.

"Ah well, it is their loss, eh?" Matty smiled, patting my shoulder.

After a while, we exchanged numbers and parted with Gilbert, promising to come back soon. Matty and I headed back to our dorm, mostly silent. I looked up at the sky to see the stars clearly twinkling overhead. The moon shone half full down on us, lighting our path. It was a bit chilly when the breeze passed by, but was otherwise a very nice night. There weren't many people out and about. Everyone seemed content to stay indoors. I let out a small breath as I pulled my bomber jacket's zipper up in an attempt to warm my body.

"That was really fun, Alfred. Thanks for taking me," Matty said at one point.

"Hm? Oh, anytime. It was fun, man," I smiled at him.

We didn't talk the rest of the way, but that was okay. It wasn't awkward. For some reason, it seemed like I knew Matthew for a very long time. We clicked, somehow.

"You know, Matty," I said as we got ready for bed, "I think you and I are gonna be best bros."

I didn't think he heard me and we turned out the lights, getting ready to sleep at last. I rolled over and faced his way, where I saw his Canadian hockey posters hanging on his wall. I smiled and closed my eyes, wondering how the Canadians could love hockey more than football.

"I think we will be, too," he replied softly, just as I was drifting off. I had barely caught it.

**A/N: That's it for now! So, do you guys like it? Anybody you would like to see in here? Maybe a ship? Let me know! I do take requests!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: And here is chapter three. **

**Three**

Two months flew by before I knew it. I had seen Francis (luckily Matty wasn't with me) and Ludwig. They were both the same as ever. I even got to meet Ludwig's boyfriend Feliciano. He was certainly cute, but seemed like he would get on someone's nerves after a bit. Not that I really had any room to talk, but still, I had a new appreciation for Ludwig's patience. As for Francis, well, he was the millionaire owner of some dating website. I wasn't too surprised at that- he had always been one for the romance.

Matty and I had grown really close. I found out that he was an only child, growing up in an orphanage. That he loved vanilla ice cream with maple syrup (he could probably eat that stuff on anything, really). His favorite drink was orange Fanta. He slept with a little stuffed white bear, which I oddly found adorable.

I had long ago abandoned the thought of thinking anything else about how I was weird for thinking things were 'cute', 'adorable' or 'sweet' when it came to Matty. With him, it just _was._ There was no logic to it. No sense to it. Again, it just was.

And I didn't mind it one bit.

School was going great. I was acing all of my classes. Matty and I studied together every other night since we had a lot of the same teachers, if not the same class. It turned out Matty, once you got him out of his quiet little shell, could be quite the comedian. He even could use sarcasm, which was a shock to me the first time he did it. I hadn't known sweet little Matty had a fiery side. And I liked that I was the only one who saw it.

Matty didn't really hang out with people unless I drug him out of the dorm to go out into the world. He would much rather sit and read all the time. I found that I rather liked having Matty's attention on me. I just figured that that was because he was my best friend, so naturally I'd want to hang around him all the time. And when I said all the time, I meant it. Matty and I were practically around each other twenty-four seven and when we weren't-either because he had a different class or I was drug off somewhere by Gilbert- we were texting.

When had he become the center of my life? My thoughts? It seemed like every other thought was of him, if not every thought. Gilbert teased me about liking Matty as more than a friend, but I didn't. It would be weird. And heroes weren't weird.

Right?

I shook my head of the thoughts and continued with my research paper. It was easy enough to do. I didn't put too much thought into it, seeing as it was a paper on something in which did not interest me one bit. After I finished, I decided to take a nap. Matty was out at the store, stocking up on some more food. We had both long ago decided it would be better if he did the shopping and cooking and I would help clean up after the cooking because my skills in the kitchen were practically nonexistent. Unless you wanted a glass of water. I could make a mean glass of water.

Just as my eyes began to close, my phone began to go off. Without even looking at who was calling, I answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Alfred," said a deep male voice.

I should have looked at the damn caller I.D.

"What do you want?" I hissed into the receiver.

"That is no way to talk to your father, Alfred Jones."

"Oh? I wasn't aware I had one. You see, he wasn't ever around. Sorry, but I think you have the wrong number," I replied coldly, sitting up.

"Ouch, your words wound me. I was calling to see if you'd be coming home for Thanksgiving next week. I called your mom, but it seems like she didn't know."

"No, I'm not coming back there. Leave me alone, alright? Leave my mother alone, too, old man. We don't want anything to do with you or your activities. Understand?" I growled lowly.

"Alright, don't come home. I'll leave you be…for now. Bye-bye, son."

I hung up on him angrily. How dare he call me! After all the years of not calling or sending money to help my mom out. Of never being around. He had no right to call and be upset when I don't want to talk to him.

He had no right to try and drag us into his lifestyle. I wanted no part in his dangerous ways. Not unless I wanted to end up in prison or dead. Or both.

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed, feeling the anger roll off of me. I just wanted to strangle him! I wanted to hold him down and-.

"I'm back, Alfred!" called Matty as he entered with grocery bags. Poof. My anger all but disappeared into thin air.

"Oh hey, Matty. You got back fast," I said, getting up to help him.

"Yeah, there weren't too many people out. Isn't there some sort of holiday about to go on?" he asked as we put the things away in our tiny kitchen.

"Yeah, Thanksgiving is next week. You going to go back home to Canada? You said something about a long-lost cousin of some sort," I said.

"Nah, I'm not going anywhere. Are you going back to Texas?" he asked, looking over at me.

"Nope. That eager to get rid of me?" I laughed. He smiled.

"No, no, I was just wondering, is all. Looks like we'll both be here, then, huh? Oh, I know! We can have our own Thanksgiving!" he said excitedly, looking at me for confirmation.

"Oh, what I have done to you? You have become Americanized, Matty. Do you even remember how to spell Canada? To say 'eh'?" I joked.

"You are so dumb sometimes, Alfred!" he shook his head, grinning.

"Oh I don't know, Matty. I haven't heard you say it in a while."

"Alfred, hockey is way better than football. How do you even watch that stuff, eh?" he smirked at me.

"Canada who?" I replied, knowing he didn't like it when I said that. His expression was totally worth it. He hit me with a pack of noodles.

"Hush. You do not mean that!" he laughed.

"True, true. So, what did you get for dinner? Burgers?" I asked with hope. He rolled his eyes.

"No, we had them last night! Honestly, Alfred, you are going to be fat if you keep eating them so much."

"I could say the same about you and pancakes, Mounty."

"Oh, that was cold, Alfred. So, so cold. And we are having spaghetti, hence the noodles I hit you with."

"Okay," I said, slightly depressed. Matthew just rolled his eyes again.

"Shoo, I have to cook. I don't need you to burn down the whole dorm trying to help. Go watch TV. I know there is a hockey game on. Mind turning it up so I can hear?"

I smiled and did as he asked.

"Who's playing?" he called, hearing the game turn on.

"The Vancouver Canucks and the Toronto Maple Leafs," I replied.

"Nice! Let's go Maple Leafs!" he said with enthusiasm.

The game drug on as he cooked. He would get frustrated when a bad call was made on his team or he heard a bad play.

"Damn hosers! Back off, Canucks!"

I tried to conceal my laughter at his angry tone.

"What's so funny, Alfred? You are a hoser, too, damn you!" he called half-heartedly.

"Yeah, yeah, Matty. I love you, too!" I called back with a laugh.

He mumbled something about being a hamburger-idiot, but I just shook my head. Poor Matty couldn't even swat a fly. He was just too…_Matty. _Extremely nice, kind and considerate.

As he brought out our plates, he sat next to me on my bed, absorbed in the game. We watched it together. I even got into it. Though, I'd never admit it. Hockey really was fun to watch, almost as nail-biting as football. I even found myself getting angry at bad calls made on Matty's team. Matty noticed and teased me, but also found himself cursing in French at certain parts and making little victory dances in others. To put it simply, I was thoroughly amused.

**A/N: Dun dun duh! Adding drama to the story~! To me, the story hasn't begun. Not yet. But we're getting there; I just don't wanna rush it. Like it so far?**


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